Question about retro 51 tornado fountain

November 22, 2009

This is my first post here, although I started reading a few months ago when I discovered that I love fountain pens. Thanks for the great knowledge base by the way. Not being sure of what I wanted, I've ordered a couple of Chinese fountain pens with limited luck. I recently bought a retro 51 tornado on ebay. However, I cannot figure out how to get a cartridge in the pen. I believe I have the right size. They are approx 1.5 inches long. However, when I insert it, the pen will not fit together. I took a flashlight and looked down in the barrel of the pen and I can see something that appears to be plastic. I'm not sure if it is part of the pen itself or if it could possibly have another cartridge stuck in there. Obviously, without knowing, I don't want to try and remove it. Without knowing if I have the wrong size or if I'm somehow not inserting it correctly - I'm at a loss.

I have read online that a short Monteverde converter will work in this pen and I plan on ordering one of those - however, when I read the measurements of it closed, it appears to be 1.5 inches as well - which would be roughly the same as the cartridges I have that will not fit for me.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Sabrina

November 22, 2009

Wish I could help but don't have any specific experience with that, I can say that cartridges (and converters) come in different sizes, maybe you've ended up with the wrong size cartridge for your pen. That'd be a simple fix. Best of luck, hopefully someone with experience on this will chime in...

Um, just thought about this, the cartridge is meant to be punctured as you put the pen together again, so don't fear to screw it together if you feel the slight resistance...

Edited November 22, 2009 by nicolasbdive

November 22, 2009

Went to their web site it looks like standard international ink cartridges. Like nicolas says the do need to be punctured so you should feel resistance when putting it together.

November 22, 2009

Yes, it did puncture the ink cartridge. I could even write with the pen to make sure the ink was coming through. But I can't get it to go together. I'm wondering if something might be stuck down in the barrel. I see something plastic but it doesn't come out. Does anyone know if a standard int. cartridge is 1.5 inches long? Thanks for the help.

Sabrin

November 22, 2009

Yes they are exactly 1.5 inches. If it's a little thin black thing there.

November 23, 2009

Perhaps you have another cartridge stuck in the barrel of the pen. What colours is the plastic you see inside the barrel?

November 23, 2009

As I further examined the pen, I measured the depth of the plastic I saw and realized it was just over the length of the cartridges I bought. I took a chance and poked it with a screwdriver. Lo and behold, ink appeared. It had a cartridge stuck in there. I then put it in hot water for a moment and then cold - hoping to shrink the plastic. I did and it came out! YES. I reinserted my original cartridge and it worked perfectly. What a wonderful feeling it is to finally get a pen to work!

My next step is to get the Monteverde mini converter and use some of my bottled inks.

Thanks for all who tried to help. Actually you did because it made me start looking into the barrel and actually figuring out what was going on.

Cheers!

Sabrina